Tips on How to Prevent Breakfast Cereals Kick-Starting Your Fat Storing Mechanism

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The nations favourite and most popular breakfast foods are breakfast cereals. The problem with breakfast cereals is that they are high in carbohydrates. Carbohydrates have an insulin provoking effect that can cause weight gain. To stabilise blood sugar levels protein and good fats need to be consumed alongside carbohydrates. Following are tips on how to add protein and good fats to your favourite breakfast cereal. This will not only give you a balanced diet with less of an insulin response but will also satisfy you for longer between meals.

The minimum you need to do is make sure you are not eating sugarcoated cereals with hydrogenated oil. Hydrogenated oil is used as a preservative to save the food company money by giving the cereal a longer shelf life. They are very unhealthy for your arteries and increase the size of your fat cells.

The next best thing is to eat gluten free cereals for easier digestion. Wheat and foods containing gluten can be very hard to digest and intolerance to these foods can cause gut inflammation as well as other allergies. Try eliminating gluten for 30 days to see if it makes a difference to the way you look and feel.

The easiest ways to add protein to cereals is to mix 1-2 scoops of whey protein powder to natural yoghurt and a little water. This is your milk substitute. Including a tbsp of flaxseed oil or flaxseed powder will add some good fat to the meal.

When eating breakfast cereals I prefer wholegrain puffed rice cereals, these are gluten free and sugar free with no nasty artificial ingredients. I mix whey protein with natural yoghurt; I use different flavoured yoghurts for variety. I then add a little water to make the yoghurt a little runny. You could use Greek yoghurt for a creamier taste. I always add flaxseed oil; I use organic oil for premium quality. This is the best way I have found to eat breakfast cereals for a more satisfying feeling and a much healthier way than the traditional method of adding pasteurised milk.

The pasteurisation process kills the important enzymes as well as destroying vitamins and amino acids. Commercial milk contains antibiotics and growth hormones. Lactose intolerance, which is common food intolerance, prevents the body from digesting milk sugars. Milk causes an estimated 50% of the adult population's bloating, gas, cramping and diarrhea. What about getting calcium in the diet? It is possible to obtain all your calcium from dark green vegetables, where do you think the cow gets theirs from? Yoghurt contains more calcium than milk and is easier to assimilate.

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Can Folate Prevent Neural Tube Defects in Your Baby?

What are Neural Tube Defects?

Defects of the brain and spinal cord are referred to as neural tube defects. The most common defects are spina bifida, where the spinal column does not close, and anencephaly with failure of brain development. This occurs in 1/1000 pregnancies or approximately 3000 births per year. Neural tube defect incidence can vary by region in the United States. The highest incidence occurs in the southeast portion of the country.

Is There a Way to Prevent NTD?

Investigators in many studies have shown that multivitamins containing folic acid can reduce the risk of NTD. Supplementation with folic acid can reduce the risk of NTD by 70% in women with no prior history of NTD and 50% in women that have had 1 previous pregnancy with NTD. However, not all NTD are related to folic acid but rather some may be related to genetic, immune factors, diabetes, or obesity.

What Foods are Good Sources of Folate?

Bread/rolls/crackers and other enriched grain products,legumes, leafy vegetables, liver, breakfast cereal, fruits and juices are all good sources of natural folate. Folic acid is a synthetic form of folate (vitamin B9) that is found in the multivitamins. Women of childbearing age should consume 400 mcg to 800 mcg of folic acid before conception and throughout the pregnancy. Women with a prior history of NTD should consume 4 mg daily. Generally, enriched grain products contain approximately 140 mcg folic acid per 100 g flour.

Overall, it has been found that less than 10% of women meet the daily requirement of 400 mcg of folate per day. Women on low carbohydrate diets and those with malabsorption syndromes are at increased risk of folate deficiency. In addition, certain medications prevent absorption of folate such as beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, cimetidine, Bactrim (septra), and certain anti-seizure medications such as phenobarbital, phenytoin, tegretol, primidone, and valproic acid.

The availability of folate from natural sources varies depending upon the food source and the way that the food is cooked. Therefore, supplementation is used in pregnancy to increase the availability of this vitamin. The body is unable to synthesize this vitamin and depends upon ingestion. Being a water soluble vitamin, excess amounts get excreted in the urine and excess consumption presents no known risks.

What is the Mechanism by which Folate Reduces NTD?

The mechanism of action of folate reducing neural tube defects is unknown. Some cases are independent and some are part of a syndrome of multiple other genetic anomalies. NTDs tend to occur more frequently in women that have a family history and also in couples that have had a previous child with this disorder. The first 25 days of gestation are particularly important for ingestion of this vitamin since neural tube closure occurs from day 18 to day 26 of gestation. Therefore, preconception ingestion with adequate amounts of folate that the body stores is very important since the critical time for neural tube closure is so early.

Is Folate Important for Other Reasons in Pregnancy?

Folate is important for DNA synthesis, cell division, and amino acid metabolism. Folate is critical in the metabolism and reduction of homocysteine in the body which prevents cardiovascular disease. Folic acid is also believed to reduce the risk of cleft palate and other genitourinary anomalies.

Recommendations

Obstetricians and other health care providers of women in the reproductive age range should counsel their patients on the importance of folic acid supplementation during pregnancy. First prenatal visits commonly occur after closure of the neural tube so folic acid consumption should begin before conception and continue especially in the early stages of pregnancy. Proper counseling is especially critical in those patients with a previous history of NTD or a family history since recurrence risk is higher.

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